PawSox walk-off twice against Herd
Playing a pair of seven-inning affairs Friday night, the Buffalo Bisons had double the heartbreak.
After valiant efforts in both games of a twinbill against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium, they found themselves on the wrong end of two walk-off hits. Alex Hassan had a walk-off single in Game One to lift the International League North-leading PawSox to a 1-0 win, and Jeremy Hazelbaker did the same in the ninth inning of the nightcap to give Pawtucket an 8-7 victory.
After a rainout on Thursday, Buffalo was in a familiar position participating in its seventh doubleheader of the year Friday. The pair of losses drops them to 7-7 in twinbills. Friday also opened a four-game set between the teams, and Game Two marked the Bisons' fourth straight loss.
Despite the losses and being one-hit in the opening game, positives still came from the Bisons side, namely Ricky Romero.
The southpaw had his best of seven starts with the Herd in Game One, and he lowered his ERA - now at 8.22 - for the third consecutive start. He went six innings, tied for his longest outing of the season, surrendering just two hits without allowing a run.
The former All-Star with the Blue Jays also fanned three and retired nine straight at one point, and threw 48 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He was not able to get the run support to earn him his first win, however.
Brad Lincoln took over for Romero in the seventh, when the Red Sox won in walk-off fashion. Hassan's game-winning hit was set up by a two-out single and steal of second by Xander Bogaerts.
As good as Romero was, Pawtucket starter Allen Webster was a little better. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth before it was broken up by Mike McCoy with two outs. That was the Herd's lone hit and the only others to reach base were Mike Nickeas and Moises Sierra, who were hit by pitches, and Ryan Goins on a walk.
The right-hander allowed the one hit and struck out six without giving up a run before turning the game over to Chris Martin after six innings of work. Webster picked up a no-decision because of Romero's comparable brilliance. Martin ended up with the win, pitching a perfect seventh.
Any kind of offense from either side was hard to come by, as there were only five hits in the game.
A big inning from each team in the nightcap brought on free baseball. Buffalo rallied for seven runs in the top of the sixth to take a 7-2 lead, only to see the PawSox score five in the seventh to tie it.
The Bisons had a great chance to redeem the blown lead in extras. In the eighth inning, Ricardo Nanita made it to third with none out, but he was stranded after a strikeout and an inning-ending double play.
The Red Sox capitalized on their chance to win in the ninth. Hazelbaker, who also drove in the tying seventh run, grounded a ball past Luis Jimenez at first base to bring in Mitch Maier for the win.
Buffalo's offensive struggles continued early in the nightcap. Tyler Doyle was spinning a two-hitter through five, as the PawSox were owners of a 2-0 lead. Then, the second-best offense in the IL found itself.
After registering just three hits and no runs through the first 12 innings of the night, the Bisons made up for their woes with a seven-run sixth to take their first lead of the night. They sent 12 batters to the plate and faced three pitchers in the inning, scoring the runs on five hits and four walks.
After a leadoff walk by Anthony Gose, Goins followed with a blooper to short left that fell between three PawSox, and resulted in runners on second and third with no outs. The next hitter, Mauro Gomez, lined a hanging breaking ball to the fence in left for a two-run single to tie the contest.
That was the last pitch for Doyle. Chris Hernandez relieved Doyle and found a similar fate, getting tagged for four runs while recording only two outs. He was eventually lifted in favor of Anthony Carter.
Jim Negrych greeted Hernandez to the game with a one-out RBI single up the middle that scored Gomez. Nanita added an RBI single before Sean Ochinko was walked with the bases loaded to bring one in.
Goins concluded the rally with a two-run infield single to increase the lead to 7-2.
The Bisons took that advantage into the seventh, but were unable to hold it. Part of the Red Sox' five-run explosion was a three-run home run by Bryce Brentz off Claudio Vargas to bring Pawtucket within one before Hazelbaker doubled in the tying run.
The Bisons, too, threw a trio of pitchers in the frame. Mickey Storey started the inning before Vargas came in, while John Stilson struck out the only batter he faced for the final out.
Justin Germano got the start for the Herd and pitched well in a no-decision. The righty allowed two runs on seven hits and fanned three over a handful of innings
BISONS NOTES: Goins and Gomez each had two hits in Game Two to lead the team…The Herd is now 2-4 on its current eight-game road trip after splitting a pair against the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders…After the four-game series with the Red Sox concludes Sunday, the Herd will return to Coca-Cola Field for eight consecutive home games…Buffalo is now 3-3 against the PawSox. The Bisons took three of four from the Sox at Coca-Cola Field in April… Germano made his 12th start, tying him for the team lead…Game One marked the fourth time Buffalo has been shut out this season.